Head-butting evolves into lucrative father-son partnership

By Elizabeth Hernandez

Staff Writer

Posted:
07/16/2017 11:00:00 AM MDT

Updated:
07/16/2017 10:59:26 PM MDT

University of Colorado engineering student Nicolaus Wolfrum prepares to ship a car part sold on eBay from his home near Gill Wednesday. Through eBay, Wolfrum sells spare auto parts to help pay for college. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

A rusted semi-trailer wedged between a corn field and a dusty county road north of Greeley holds the key to getting Nicolaus Wolfrum through college.

Inside, shelves are stacked high with used and remanufactured car parts — surplus from Wolfrum's dad, Jimmie Wolfrum, collecting odds and ends from his auto engine remanufacturing business for the past 30-some years.

"I never dreamed that would be his college education," he said, of his son.

Nicolaus Wolfrum never dreamed an eBay shop he created to sell car parts and help pay his way as an engineering student at the University of Colorado would blow up to the point of being a finalist in an eBay small business competition.

The father-son team is getting used to surprises.

When Nicolaus Wolfrum was in high school, he and his dad constantly butted heads.

"You couldn't hardly put the two of us in the same room together," Jimmie Wolfrum said.

But after Nicolaus Wolfrum went to college, the 20-year-old said he grew up, his dad mellowed out, and now the two are a dynamic duo.

Nicolaus Wolfrum started helping out around his dad's shop the summer after his freshman year at CU.

Engineering classes made him look at the auto shop in a whole new way. Jimmie Wolfrum said he'll watch his son pick up a car part, bring it close to his face and try to figure out how it works.

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On his long commute from his Gunbarrel apartment to his parent's home and the auto shop 15 miles north of Greeley, Nicolaus Wolfrum said he sometimes can't stop thinking about the mechanics of engines and the science behind them.

When fall rolled around, he knew he wanted a job to help pay for school and pad his pockets, but he wanted something that wouldn't take him away from his mechanical engineering major and computer science minor.

Leftover parts — pistons, valves, connecting rods and more — were posted online, expanding the shop from its northern Colorado market to the entire world. Business was slow at first, but Nicolaus Wolfrum loved being able to pop into the library between classes and manage his shop. The flexibility and feeling of independence kept him motivated until sales started picking up.

In the first six months of the online store, Nicolaus Wolfrum handled about 100 transactions. This past June, alone, he saw 161.

The revenue doesn't pay for the CU student's full tuition, but he does make a pretty penny — a few thousand bucks a month — which he puts toward school and bills.

"It started with me just wanting to pay for my lunch that day," Nicolaus Wolfrum said. "Boulder is expensive and being a college student is expensive. I didn't want to be asking my parents for money all the time."

Jimmie Wolfrum doesn't mind stepping in to help, if his son shop gets tied up studying.

"Any money I can help him make is one less dollar he comes asking for from me," he said, chuckling.

Hope, skepticism

The unique partnership isn't lost on the two.

"We joke that when I work in my dad's shop, he's my boss, and when he helps me out with eBay, I'm his boss," Nicolaus Wolfrum said.

In May, he heard about a competition for small businesses held through eBay called the SHINE awards. When he saw a "young entrepreneur" category, he decided to go for it. He filled out the application, had his mom proofread it just like he would a college paper and sent it off.

Nicolaus Wolfrum was hopeful. His father was skeptical.

"I don't think I quite laughed in his face when he told me about it, but I thought there ain't no way he's ever getting picked," Jimmie Wolfrum said.

Lo and behold, one day, his son's phone rang, and it was eBay on the line.

"What did he do now?" Jimmie Wolfrum remembers saying. They wanted to congratulate his son for becoming one of 15 finalists out of more than 2,400 entries.

"It's a whole lot bigger deal than I realized," Jimmie Wolfrum said. " We're just sort of flying by the seat of our pants, so I'm really proud of him."

The public can vote for the eBay contestants online once a day through Friday. For earning a spot as a finalist, Nicolaus Wolfrum gets a free trip to Las Vegas to attend the eBay OPEN conference in Las Vegas at the end of July to network and attend workshops. If he wins in his young entrepreneur category, he gets $5,000, shipping supplies and other store perks, and if he takes the overall prize, he claims $10,000 along with eBay goodies.

If he wins, the money is going toward new merchandise for the shop and his tuition.

"It'd be nice to blow it on a new car or something, but I'm going to use it for good," Nicolaus Wolfrum said.

As for the future of the shop, he plans to keep it up for as long as it suits him.

"We sometimes say it'll end up being my dad's retirement plans," he said.

The engineering student, who was originally inspired by his dad's entrepreneurial bug, has big plans post-graduation. He wants to get his feet wet in the engineering field and then strike out on his own.

"I don't dream of working for someone else," Nicolaus Wolfrum said. "I want to do things on my terms."

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